Chapter 63: Breakfast
The chill of the salty sea breeze against his face was all Miles needed to know where he was. He opened his eyes to find himself at the beach once again. Soft sand beneath him, dark rocks jutting out near the shore, dark clouds above, and the endless expanse of blue before him.
It was all the same as last time.
He consciously kept his gaze away from the magnetic figure still standing in the water, and looked around for Miss Rose.
She wasn’t on the rock he’d spotted her on last time. Right as he stood up to look around, a voice came from above.
"Looking for me, love?"
Miles turned his head upwards to find a familiar black crow perched upon a rocky outcrop on the cliff behind him. Above her, the cliff kept expanding upwards into the sky with no visible edge in sight.
He sighed in relief before nodding.
"Yes. What are you doing up there? Is there something behind the cliff?"
Miss Rose tilted her head curiously.
"Probably not. I haven’t bothered checking it out, though. Are you interested?"
"No, not really."
Miles shook his head, prompting Miss Rose to let out a light, singsong chuckle.
"You haven’t changed much at all, have you?"
She jumped off the outcrop, gliding down slowly in the wind, until she landed softly on Miles’s shoulder. Nuzzling her head into his cheek a bit, she continued.
"It’s fine, though. I doubt it’s anything worth noting. You’ll be much safer here."
That sentence sparked a thought in his mind, and he glanced to the side, where the cliff and the beach both bent into an exit.
Two people stood there now. Anna and Henry. Jayce was gone.
Miss Rose paused her nuzzling, a sharp coldness replacing the warmth in her silver eyes.
"You still choose to leave them there. Wasn’t Jayce enough of a warning? If not him, then Matt, and if not that wretch, then the rest of those dogs staying in that damned house."
Miles kept silent, glancing away from them to the side. Like a child that had done something bad.
"Look at me, Miles."
The crow’s tone softened at the sight, and she pecked her beak gently into the side of his face, drawing his attention again.
Her brilliant silver eyes stared straight into his grey ones.
"No matter what happens, even if they all leave you. Even if they all hurt and betray you. You will still have me. You will never have nothing. So don’t say that again."
Miles still said nothing, staring at Miss Rose for a few moments longer before turning his gaze away. The crow nodded, seemingly satisfied at having gotten her message through.
She took off from his shoulder, landing onto a nearby rock. As she did so, Miles heard his name being called from somewhere distant.
The world around him began destabilizing in response.
The ground, sea, sky, and even Miss Rose took on a sketchy, penciled texture. The edges of their scribbles shifted back and forth with growing instability.
Just like when [Delusion] manifested on Jayce.
Miles glanced at his hands to find them still looking normal. So he looked back to Miss Rose.
"Will I be coming here each night then?"
It had happened last night, and today as well. Miss Rose chirped thoughtfully before shaking her head.
"I don’t know much about here yet. So I can’t say for sure. But you’ll definitely be seeing much more of me, Miles. At least you won’t be forgetting about me anytime soon."
"I neve-"
The sketched crow interrupted his retort with a burst of laughter.
"I’m just messing with you, love. You get so uptight about things like that, I just can’t help myself."
She wiped nonexistent tears from her eyes with the back of a claw.
Then she looked warmly at him as the sound of his name grew louder and closer, and as the world around them unspooled into chaotic scribbles.
"I’ll always be here, Miles. Waiting."
Her body dissolved, and the dream collapsed into blackness.
***
"Miles! Damn, is he usually a heavy sleeper?"
"How would I know?"
"Aren’t you his class rep, dumbass?"
"First, language. Second, how am I supposed to— Oh, he’s waking up now."
Miles woke up to the sound of bickering. Blinking his eyes open, he found Ryan and Mia standing above him.
Ryan looked at him with some concern.
"How do you feel?"
Still feeling groggy, Miles replied with an unsure nod, his mind already examining his current state.
It was fine.
He roughly remembered heading back to his blanket after nudging an annoyed Brandon for his shift. Although the storage room had lost most of its heat overnight, [Cold Resistance] had finally showed its use.
Although he still felt chilly, it was nothing compared to yesterday morning. He had no migraines and didn’t even feel that hungry either, likely due to eating actual food in place of snacks last night.
He kept half a mind focused on the warmth in his chest as Ryan nodded back at him before stretching a hand out.
"Come on. It’s around 7 a.m. now, we have to get moving."
He stared at the hand for a moment before taking it and pulling himself up. Beside Ryan, Mia’s blue eyes scanned him with an evaluating look.
"You should probably get something to eat too—"
"Isn’t there anything here besides beans?"
The blond-haired girl squinted at the sound of Brandon’s voice. He sat on a broken crate piece, grumpily downing a can of beans.
"Not eating is also an option."
"Wasn’t talking to you, blondie."
Mia’s forehead twitched at that. Luckily, Ryan managed to step between them in time.
"That’s enough, Brandon. If you have any ideas on how to cook those eggs there, then by all means, be my guest. There’s some milk if you’re tired of beans."
Given that the school had been near farms, its store really didn’t keep a huge stockpile of perishables or vegetables; even the eggs weren’t that many.
Most of the food here was just non-perishables. Namely beans, milk, and flour.
Brandon grumbled and turned back to his beans, much to Mia’s amusement. She looked like she wanted to say something, only for Ryan’s disapproving look to send her pouting.
Miles watched the entire exchange silently, not intruding even once. Then, as though he’d just remembered him, Ryan turned to face him again, an awkward smile on his face.
"Uhh... So, beans, milk, or maybe both?"
He replied curtly.
"Beans."
He didn’t feel like turning his gut into a ticking time bomb yet.